I have not really noticed anything...The pre filter, I just replaced and it was caked with a dark sediment so I guess its doing its job. Im just wondering if over time that however this thing works will it cause restrictions in my water flow? I assume it collects something from the water somehow, but it has no backwash...so it has to plug up eventually. The plumber who was out to my house said they are useless...period, end of story. It was here when I moved in, and I can see they are expensive to buy...would I buy one, probably not. Just wondering what others think of them?

That unlimited lifespan is an outright lie. The manufacturer and the supplier I bought a small one from for testing both say 5 years. And if I wanted to hunt for it, I could find the manufacture's spec sheet that I have for it.

There are a couple other companies marketing these same type units, Watts being the one that comes to mind. Though they have some sucess, it is important to note that not only does the media have a finite life (usually around 5 years, depending on the severity of the water conditions) they all are only useful for marginal water hardness conditions.

You can replace the media but my wholesale cost is all but $8,000 per cuft bag of it. And a cuft bag of resin delivered to your door is like $115. And your water is nowhere near as nice as softened water. And a softener costs much less to start with.

ok, so I know this thing is almost 5yrs old. So should I take it out of the system? and replace it with a softener? If so on a 2 bedroom house with upper bath only, and lower shower only, 2 people here only what would best suit me? Or how would I determine if this Pelican NS3 is still any good?

its wet....lol. I really can,t say because it has been here since I moved in. I just think it might be time for a proper softener with this being 5 yrs old. I changed the pre filter a few days ago and it was black with sediment so who knows what the inside of the main one looks like or if it is working? The water seems ok, but only being here 3 months its hard to tell.